Train to gain that toned tummy!
Image by Bec Peterson
First thing's first, abs are close to impossible to maintain at all times during the day and at all angles.
Especially for women, as the lower section of your stomach is where your body naturally likes to store fat.
I included the photo above because the angle and shadowing is perfect, plus, I hadn't yet eaten anything when this shot was taken. The illusion of abs can be very misleading when you look at photos of other people on instagram and facebook! I definitely don't look like this at all times.
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In saying that, abs aren't impossible to have! I just wanted to make you aware that the appearance of these muscles definitely changes and is very dependent on hormones, water retention, whether you're flexing or relaxed, and of course the right photo lighting and angles help ;).
Next point I wanted to touch on: how many times have you heard that to get a six-pack you need to do crunches, do sit-ups, and repeat?
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I never put crunches or sit-ups in my own or my clients’ programs. A toned stomach is all about working the entire core, and not just the abdominal muscles. Another reason I tend to not like crunches and sit-ups very much is that they put a lot of strain on your groin and hip-flexor muscles, without doing a lot to strengthen your core. They’re not a necessarily bad exercise, I just prefer to program core training in a different capacity.
Abs are a small section of your core, the core covers everything from your pelvis up to your neck. You can get a six-pack without doing any specific targeting of abs. Instead, train core stabilisation and compound strength training exercises. Working on the entire core as opposed to a subsection of the core burns more calories as well as building muscles through that abdominal section. If you want to look like an athlete, you have to train like an athlete!
"So, what sort of exercises should I be doing to strengthen my whole core and build a six-pack from the inside out?"
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Here are some great compound movements that build your core as well as help to burn calories:
Back squat
When your torso is needing to take the load of a heavy weight, it forces your core to stabilise.
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Image:
Me training at The Forum
Front squat
Similar principle to the back squat, it does however tend to work the core a little harder in order to keep your chest up as the load has moved to the front of your centre of gravity.
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Image:
Loaded push-ups
There are a few ways you can execute these, I tend to really like looping a resistance band under my hands and over the backs of my shoulders, you can also place a weight between your shoulder blades to add load.
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Images:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbuD7f75Ytk
http://www.stack.com/a/use-band-push-ups-to-build-chest-strength-and-protect-your-shoulders
Dead lifts and hip thrusts
Load up that posterior chain and get your core working.
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Images:
Client Shekinah training at The Forum
Client Alex training at The Forum
Overhead movements
I love overhead press, squats, lunges and steps ups. Clean and press as well as snatch movements are great too, they do require a little more technical skill, so just start out light.
Basically, anything where your upper body is needing to take the load of a heavy weight forces your core to stabilise the load – I love overhead exercises for this.
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Image:
I do also include specific core targeting exercises in my programming, I prefer to use exercises that strengthen the entire core for movements that it is designed to do (not sit-ups and crunches). It's important to strengthen your core in different planes and with different movements that will make you stronger functionally. For this reason I like to include exercises that have a rounded focus on anti-rotation, anti-extension, anterior stabilisation and lateral stability.
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Here are some examples of my favourite functional core targeting exercises:
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Pallof press
If you follow my instagram account (peakphysique__), you will definitely notice that I love the Pallof press, I program it for myself and my clients all the time. I'm always banging on about how great this exercise is (lol).
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I love it for good reason, it's extremely functional and strengthens your core in multiple planes. Added bonus, it has endless variations.
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Images:
Client Shaun training at The Forum
Cable woodchops and landmine rotations
These movements are explosive, multi-joint exercises that develop strength and power throughout the core and obliques.
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Image:
https://www.muscleandfitness.com/muscle-fitness-hers/hers-workouts/get-flat-abs-these-4-moves
Med ball power work
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The medicine ball is one of the simplest and most effective tool for training explosive power and rotational core strength. Training force production and absorption in different planes proves to be the best method for transferring over to sports performance as well as being functional for day to day life.
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You can throw med balls at a wall front on, sideways to build rotational strength, down at the floor, over your shoulder or even up into the air.
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Images:
https://topscorebaseball.com/blog/baseball-core-strength-exercises-for-hitting-throwing-and-running/
http://www.simplefitliving.com/4-medicine-ball-exercises-to-build-your-6-pack/
Last point for this blog post:
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Having abs has a huge deal to do with your diet. “It’s 100 per cent about diet, but it’s also 100 per cent about exercise, 100 per cent about stress management and what we refer to as regeneration (which is muscle repair)” – Chan from Equinox.
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Fat is hiding your abs, bringing them out is a matter of losing body fat percentage overall. So, while your goal might be about getting abs, it really is about looking fit and toned. And that happens from your shoulders to your calves. Everyone has abs, they’re just covered by overall fat percentage.
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- Ash
xx